Abandoned Autos

The City of Berkeley offers an Abandoned Auto Hotline which allows the community to report vehicles that they believe to be abandoned. The number is our non-emergency dispatch line at 510-981-5900 and is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The City of Berkeley prohibits the parking or storage of any type of vehicle on City right of way for more than 72 hours.

An abandoned vehicle is a vehicle that has been left on city streets for an extended period and may have one or more of the following conditions:

•Location•Description of the vehicle•License plate number if available.•Name and phone number ( optional )

A Parking Enforcement Officer will respond to most complaints the following day. If the officer finds a vehicle to be in violation, a warning tag will be placed on the vehicle. After a vehicle has been tagged the owner has 24 hrs to remove it. If the vehicle has not been removed after that time, the City has the authority to impound and / or dispose of the vehicle at the registered owner's expense.

It does not matter how long you know the car has been parked there. If a car has been marked and is not towed after 72 hours, please call a BPD dispatcher at 981-5900 and ask for an officer to conduct a follow-up to determine if a tow is legally apppropriate.